Machine for severing and shaping metal plates



ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS JAMES H. BUCKNAM JOHN H.ROUNTREE 0%1951 J. H. BUCKNAM ETAL MACHINE FOR SEVERING AND SHAPING METAL PLATESOriginal Filed Jan. 9, 1945 Oct 1951 J. H. BU CKNAM ET AL MACHINE FORSEVERING AND SHAPING METAL PLATES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Jan.9, 1945 JAMES H. BUCKNAM JOHN H. OUNTREE ATTORNEY Patented Oct. i6, i95iUNITED ATENT 2,571,196 1\ mo nine Fort. SEVERING AND SHAPING METALPLATES James H. Bucknam, Cranford, and John H. Roun tree;'Plainfi'cld,N. J., assignors, by mesne assignmentsto Union Carbide and CarbonCorporation, a corporation of New York I Original application januaryi), 1945, Serial No. 572,064. Divided and this application February, 19;1949, serial N6. 77,354

This application is a division of our copending parent application,Serial No; 572,064, filed Jane uary 9, 1945, now Patent No.2,477,04Lissued July 26, 1949;

This invention relates tomachines'for severing and shaping metal plates,and more particularly to a machine for propelling one or'moreblowpipeshorizontally in'predetermin'ed paths so' as to cut or both out and bevelmetal plates accord-' ing to desired shapes and edge contours:

Shape-cutting machines or reproducing machines for moving a blowpipe ina horizontal plane in any'desired direction within limits have beenconstructed on the principles that no resistance against movement occursbetween the blowpipe and the workpiece and, as a result, the shape-cut-5 Claims. (01. 266-231) angular cuts a self-propelled carriage cuttingunit ting machines customarily used are of light con struction which issatisfactory for small workpieces. If large pieces of metal, such asship plates, are to be cut; a machine having greater cutting capacity isrequired, but if such a machine were constructed according to theprinciples of the customary shape-cutting machines, it would beimpossible to maintain the cutting accuracy which is required. Thehandling of large plates is difiicult and it is therefore desirableto'perform as many of the cutting and trimming operations as possiblewithout handlingthe" plate between such operations. I

For oXy-fuel gas or oXy-acetylene cutting of large plates such as'shipplates to-size; for forming desired edge contours on such plates, andfor beveling the edges of such plates to prepare'them for subsequentwelding, there is provided according to this invention, a mechanismwhich is known as a flame planer. Th entire flameplaner and thesub-assemblies included are of heavy duty construction and sodesigned-as to-be capable of making precision cuts even after longcontinued use.

The flame planer, according to thepresent invention, consists of atleast one bridge member that extends transversely across the workpieceand is supported at each end on carriages or trucks which run onlongitudinal rails at each side of the workpiece. The rails areaccurately leveled and maintained straight 'andparallel and theworkpiece is horizontally supported on'acutting bed comprising eitherstationary supports'or a roller conveyor disposed between the'r'a'ils.The flame planar includes a cutting unit mounted on the bridg member andcapable of transversely severing a plate according to theleng'thdesired;

of making angular cuts, andof beveling the cut edges. For transversecutting, and for making is mounted on a straight track which is carriedat an adjustable angle to the bridge member.

Accordingly, the principal objects of the present invention are: toprovide an improved cutting mechanism capable of accurately trimming andshaping large plates; to provide such a machine having right stabilityand rigidity, and which provides smooth and accurate travel of thecutting unit; to provide such a machine which cross track way which canbe adjusted to be either parallel to the bridge or at any desired angleto the bridge.

Other objects of the invention will appear be low; and while details ofthe embodiment disclosed by way of example are set forth, theinventionis not limited to these, since changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of abridge member having secured thereto anangularly adjustable transverse track carrying a self-propelled cuttingunit;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale showing the leftarticulated arm for adjustably supporting a track on the bridge member;I c

Fig.3 is a View of a section taken along-the line I 2-1 2 of Fig.2 toshow the'adjustable arm joints;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the upper part of thecuttingunit shown in Fig. 1 with parts broken away to illustrate thedriving motor mechanism; and

Fig. 5 is a verticals'ection through the lower part of the structureshown in Fig. 4.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, the large plate to be shaped andcut to size is illustratedat W. Such plate is preferably supportedhorizontally by suitable means such as indicated at The supporting meansmay be stationary and the plate W placed thereon by a crane'or thesupport may comprise conveyor rollers" such a'sa're customarily used forhandling large metal plates. Longitudinally along either side'o'f theplate W are tracks or rails R mounted on suitable foundation'beams 29';Such beams 20 preferably are or concrete and are joined by a substantialr unds tion floor 2i so that thebeams ZETare rigi'd'lycom nected. Abridge member '3' extend's'transversely across the plate W and isrigidly mounted at each 3 end on trucks T arranged to run on the railsR. Supported by the bridge member B is a cutting unit C.

The bridge member B has ends rigidly secured to the upper portions ofthe trucks T thereby forming a bridge unit which is movable along therails R without any deviation of the bridge member from perpendicularrelation to the rans R or any variations in level.

The bridge member is preferably constructed in the form of a stiff boxgirder 40. Such girder 40 has means for mounting track member 42thereon, which is provided with a longitudinal toothed rack 50.

Details of the cutting unit C are illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Thecarriage for the cutting unit C includes a box-like frame I20 which isprovided with a front wall I2I, leftand right-side walls I22 and I22 andbottom and top walls I23 and I24. The frame I is mounted for free butaccurate straight line movement along the track 42. Such mounting isprovided by four rollers I25 mounted in bearing brackets H6 in pairswith the axes of each pair at 90 so as to engage the angularly relatedupper ways 47 of the track 42. One bracket I26 is secured to the insideof the lefthand end wall I22 and another bracket I26 is secured to theinside of the right-hand end wall I22 near the upper end thereof. Twomore rollers I27 are positioned to engage with the way or guidingsurface 48 ad acent the lower forward edge of the track 42. A fifthroller I29 is also provided and rotatably mounted in a bracket I30 whichis secured to the bottom wall I23 in a position to hold the roller I29against the way 49 of the track 42. The roller I29 is so mounted in thebracket I30 that it is shiftable toward and away from the 'way surface49 .and is urged against the way 49 by a spring I3I, the tension ofwhich may be adjusted by a screw I32. Such arrangement of rollersprovides accurate and smooth movement of the frame I20 along the track42.

The movement of the frame I20 may be accomplished in either of two ways.In one of such ways, theframe I20 is shifted by rotation of a handwheelI which is mounted on the end of a forwardly extending shaft I36. Theshaft I36 passes through the front wall I2I and carries a worm (notshown). The inner end of the shaft I36 is carried in a bearing I 38. Theworm engages a worm gear I39 which is keyed to a vertical drive shaftI40 that is mounted in a bearing I40 extending through the top wall I24.Axially in line with and below shaft I40 is a shaft I4I supported inbearings I4I extending inwardly from the front wall I2I. Between thebearings I4I, a pinion I42 is secured to shaft MI in a position toengage with the rack of the track 42. The portion of shaft I40 thatextends upwardly through the bearing I40 has a collar I43 secured to itsupper end. The shaft I4I also has thereon a clutch I44 that ispositioned between the upper one of the bearings MI and the worm gearI39 on shaft I40 and has a member I44 vertically shiftable by a forkI45, the ends of which engage a groove I46 in the clutch member I44. Thefork I45 is secured to a horizontal cross shaft I41 which passesrotatably through the end wall I22 and has secured to its external end ashifting lever I48. When the lever I48 is raised, the clutch isdisengaged so that the lower shaft I will be free to rotateindependently of the upper shaft I40 and thus the frame I20 can beshifted rapidly along the track 42 without rotating the handwheel I35 orthe upper end of the shaft I40 which can be coupled to a motor.

i'he other manner of moving the frame I20 along the track 42 is by amotor I50 as shown in Fig. 4. The motor I50 has a governor type of speedcontrol mechanism Ial of the type customarily employed in shape-cuttingmachines or self-propelled blowpipe carriages and at the opposite end,an output shaft I52 that extends downwardly from a housing I53containing gearing coupling the output shaft I52 with the standard motorshaft. i'he shaft I52 is connected by coupling means I54 in axialalignment with the upper portion of the vertical drive shaft I40. l'hemotor I50 is secured to the top I24 of the frame I20 and is preferablycovered by a housing I55. A speed control indicator and dial I56 ispreferably mounted on top of the housing I55 above the governor I5I. Thepinion on the shaft I40 which meshes with the rack 50, the electricalconnections from a source of power for the motor and a control switchare not shown in the interest of clearness of the drawing.

For supporting the cutting blowpipe mechanism, on carriage C there ispreferably secured to the front wall I2I, a forwardly extending slideway248 along which a slider I49 is movable.

The slider I49 is positionable along the slide-way 248 by a crank handle250 which turns a screw threadedly engageable with the slider in theusual manner. The slider I49 carries a torch-supporting mechanism of anydesired type which however is preferably a plate-riding device 252 ofthe type disclosed and claimed in the U. S. Patent No. 2,373,541 issuedApril 10, 1945, to R. Chelborg and H. Pufahl. Such plate-riding devicecarries a cluster of cutting blowpipe nozzles at an accurate elevationfrom the surface of the plate being cut, the nozzles also held in suchrelation to each other that the desired trimming and beveling operationsmay be simultaneously carried out during movement of the plate-riderdevice on the surface of the work. The nozzle cluster may be similar tothat disclosed in the aforementioned U. S. patent.

Gases such as fuel gas, heating oxygen, and cutting oxygen are suppliedto the blowpipe nozzles by flexible hose connections 254 which in turnare coupled to control valves in the customary manner.

Mechanism is provided for mounting the transverse track member at anydesired angular relation to the bridge member B. The track 42 is shownpositioned to cut off a corner I59 of a plate W. The track 42 issupported by two jointed arms I60 which are identical but oppositehanded wherefore the left arm onlyis described in detail. A channel-likeframe member I6I is secured along the sides of the girder 40 preferablyon mounting pads 45 under each end of the member I6I. One link I62 ofthe arm I60 is pivotally supported at its inner end by a bearing I63 atthe left end of the member I6 I. The front end of the link I62 ispivotally connected by an axially vertical pivot pin I 64 to the rearend of a forward link I65 and the remaining end of the forward link I65is pivotally connected to abearing I66 secured to the rear of the trackmember 42.

In Fig. 3 it will be seen that the link I62 has secured thereto a pivotpin I61, the ends of which are rotatably mounted in the bearing bracketI63. The pivot pin I64 is secured to the link I65, and

its ends are rotatably mounted in a fork of the link I62. The upper partof the fork of the link. I62 carries a dial I68 which has marks thereoncooperating with an index I69 mounted on the link I65. The dial andindex permits settings of the track 92 to be made according to aschedule of numbers. A pivot pin I secured to the link 165 is rotatablycarried in the bearing bracket I36 which is provided with a lockingclamp l?! of the split type having a clamping screw I72. By tighteningthe clamping screw the track 42 may be locked in position. Stops I73 andI73 are also provided at the elbow ends of the links I62 and I65. Thesestops are arranged to pass each other when the arm IE9 is fully extendedbut are provided so that the stop I13 will engage a pad 15 on the bridgegirder 46 when the link I32 is in its fully retracted position and thestop I73 will engage the back of the track 42 when the link I 65 is atits closest position to the track.

The operation of the embodiment described herein is believed evidentfrom the above description. If it is desired to transversely sever aplate to cut the plate into lengths or to trim the ends square, theplate will be moved by conveyor rollers or by a crane in position uponthe supports S. The carriage C on the track 42 of the bridge member Bcan be used. The arms I60 will be adjusted to their fully retractedposition and locked in that position so that the track 42 will be heldparallel to the bridge girder 40. The cutting unit C is then operated inthe customary manner to sever the plate. For example, the cut may bestarted at one edge of the plate by heating a spot on the plate toignition temperature. The cutting oxygen stream or streams of thenozzles which are supported by the plate-riding device 252 is turned onand the motor 150 in the carriage C is energized to propel the carriagealong the track 42 at a cutting speed. The nozzles are accuratelypositioned by use of the crank handle 250 and the plate-riding device252 will maintain the nozzles at the correct level above the worksurface. The cutting speed is preselected by adjusting the setting ofthe governor control I56.

If angular transverse cuts are to be made, the jointed arms I60 areadjusted into positions which will hold the track 42 at the desiredangular relation to the bridge beam 40, for example as illustrated inFig. 1. With such arrangement the self propelled carriage C is employedto move the plate-riding attachment 252 and nozzles thereon in thedesired angular path on the work surface.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be thepreferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be madetherein without departing from the invention, and it is thereforeintended in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A blowpipe machine comprising a transverse bridge member; trucksunder each end of said bridge member and secured thereto, spacedparallel rails on which said trucks run to provide longitudinalhorizontal movement of said bridge member; a track secured to one sideof said bridge member: adjustable means for supportin said track on saidbridge member at selected distances therefrom and at selected anglesthereto; a blowpipe supporting carriage unit mounted on and movablealong said track; a rotatable drive member in driving engagement withsaid track;

a shaft mounted in said blowpipe supporting carriage for operating saiddrive member; and means for operating said shaft to move said blowpipeunit along said angularly disposed track.

2. In a blowpipe machine, a transverse bridge member supported at eachend on trucks which are longitudinally movable along parallel rails, atrack member secured to said bridge member, a blowpipe carrying unitsupported on said track for movement therealong, a pair of arms formedby pivoted links, each arm having one link pivoted to said track memberand a link pivoted to said transverse bridge member; said links beingmovable horizontally only, and means for locking the pivots of each armagainst movement.

3. A blowpipe machine comprising a transverse bridge member; wheeledtrucks under each end of said bridge member and secured thereto; spacedparallel rails along which said trucks run longitudinally thereof; atrack supported on said bridge member; a blowpipe supporting unitmounted on and movable along said track; a rotatable drive member indriving engagement with said track; and adjustable means for supportingsaid track on said bridge member at selected angularly disposedpositions with respect thereto.

4. A blowpipe machine according to claim 1, in

which said adjustable supporting means comprises at least one arm formedby pivoted links, said arm having one link pivoted to said track memberand a link pivoted to said carriage, said links being movablehorizontally only.

' 5. A blowpipe machine according to claim 1, in which said adjustablesupporting means comprises at least one arm formed by pivoted links,said arm having one link pivoted to said track member and a link pivotedto said carriage, said links being movable horizontally only; and meansassociated with at least one of the pivots of said arm for locking thepivot against movement.

JAMES H. BUCKNAM. JOHN H. ROUNTREE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 366,811 Bolgiano July 19, 1887627,435 Minthorn June 20, 1899 1,176,584 Madgett Mar. 21, 1916 1,777,497Krebs Oct. 7, 1930 1,811,835 Anderson June 30, 1931 1,825,606 SchmidtSept. 29, 1931 1,999,787 Sassen Apr. 30, 1935 2,032,733 Anderson Mar. 3,1936 2,231,014 Lytle et al Feb. 11, 1941 2,233,098 Hodnett Feb. 25, 19412,259,956 Jones Oct. 21, 1941 2,327,255 Flygare et a1 Aug. 17, 19432,391,008 Bucko Dec. 18, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date626,443 France May 9, 1927 553,540 Germany June 27, 1932 OTHERREFERENCES Trinks: Industrial Furnaces, 3rd Ed., 4th printing, Jan.1944, vol. 1, pages 289-293, pub. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. New York.

